Knitting Annoyances

laikabear · 02-09-2012, 03:13 AM

OK I don't really expect advice on how to fix this problem, but I am having and ARGH! moment and I figured you guys could at least sympathize...

Swatching for a sweater for my dog - worsted acrylic - need gauge of 20 sts/ 4". Recommended needles size 6. Now I usually am a tight knitter and have to go UP a needle size. Here goes swatching...

Size 7 - 17 sts/ 4"
Size 6 - 17.5 sts/ 4"
Size 5 - 19 sts/ 4"
Size 4 - 18 sts/ 4"

WHAT? How did my gauge go UP on the 4s? (Or is that down?)

I was getting pretty frustrated but then I washed and machine dried the swatches and the size 5 is pretty close to 20 sts/ 4" so I'm going with that. I'm still astonished that I'm using smaller than recommended needles.

Any knitting annoyances happen to you? Share your tale of woe here!

fatoldladyinpjs · 02-09-2012, 11:22 AM

I couldn't find a pattern for a Corgi. Had to wing one. They have the long hot dog bodies that are hard to fit. After I got one done, he hid under the bed. Had to coax him out with a dog treat to get it on. In the end, he spends more time wriggling out of it than wearing it. Oh, well. I look at it as being a learning experience. lol

laikabear · 02-09-2012, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by fatoldladyinpjs

I couldn't find a pattern for a Corgi. Had to wing one. They have the long hot dog bodies that are hard to fit. After I got one done, he hid under the bed. Had to coax him out with a dog treat to get it on. In the end, he spends more time wriggling out of it than wearing it. Oh, well. I look at it as being a learning experience. lol

I think my Doberman will like wearing the sweater - she gets cold and always is sitting in front of the heater vent (even in So Cal!). I guess we have a lot in common - I'm cold-natured too! She has some T-shirts but they don't make a lot in large sizes, and they fit terribly. She has the opposite problem of a Corgi - a huge chest and tiny waist (I should be so lucky!). So the T-shirts are way too baggy around the middle and seem to restrict her movement.

We'll see... I'll post some pics when I have more than a blob of yarn to show!

fatoldladyinpjs · 02-10-2012, 10:33 AM

If it helps, a dog sweater is basically a tube with large "buttonholes" for the front legs. I knit mine in all rib so it would hug the curves and fit better. My dog's sweater ended up being 17 inches long, 21 with the turtleneck. It looked like it would fit a bus.

GrumpyGramma · 02-10-2012, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by fatoldladyinpjs

If it helps, a dog sweater is basically a tube with large "buttonholes" for the front legs. I knit mine in all rib so it would hug the curves and fit better. My dog's sweater ended up being 17 inches long, 21 with the turtleneck. It looked like it would fit a bus.

Fit a bus?

I can just picture a bus in a sweater, thanks, I needed a good giggle!

I call them mutt mitts, for chihuahuas, I made a mitt with 2 thumb holes and had fun doing it. Of course, frogging and restarting on something as tiny as what I made is much less irritating than frogging and restarting for a bigger doggy. It's actually a good way for me to use up little bits of yarn. And as small as they are, I don't bother to swatch since it would take longer than just restarting.

suzeeq · 02-09-2012, 11:45 AM

I think you should go with the 5s, a heavier yarn can only squish down so much and I think that's the limit yours will go.

laikabear · 02-09-2012, 08:44 PM

Thanks Suzee, that is just what I did! The fabric is looking nice so far. I am not a big fan of acrylic, but the Brava is very nice and this is for a dog.

Antares, the guy pulling out his hair is in the [more] section of the smileys. Or you can make him appear by typing a colon, then the word hair, then a colon.

GrumpyGramma · 02-09-2012, 12:23 PM

The designer knits tighter than you do!

Yeah, I can understand. I apparently crochet looser than pattern writers so always automatically use a smaller hook and then there's the time it goes the other way. I've not knitted long enough to know for sure, but I think I knit on the tight side. I don't ever seem to be able to hit the stitch gauge exactly.

Antares · 02-09-2012, 12:27 PM

Yeah, those swatches!!! Sometimes they're more trouble than they're worth!!

I knitted about 8 or 9 swatches for a baby shirt I'm making and could never hit gauge. I finally chose needles that gave me a smaller garment because I figured you can always stretch it, but it's hard to shrink it (well, that's Lilly Chin's advice anyway). Now that I'm seaming the thing up, though, it looks way too small.

(Where you'd get that "smiley" that's not smiling at all but rather pulling his hair out? I need him!!)

chixdilla · 02-10-2012, 03:36 PM

Ugh, this is exactly why I hate gauge swatches so much. Seems to me that you'll end up spending more time on your swatches trying to get your gauge right than working on your actual project! I usually just dive into my project, and then pray feverishly that it works out.

I made my pup a sweater too, but I used the custom fit dog sweater pattern, so it was easy to make up a pattern based on your gauge. Alas, I did have to make a swatch for that, but I only had to do it once so it wasn't too bad!

This pic was taken pre-leghole and back ribbing.